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You may have to work out your own arrangement. The melody line is simple.

There are also several tutorials for Misty Mountains Cold on YouTube, but those arrangements were too advanced for me.

Gah! I have no skill with a blade! And I have no skill with arranging either. My reading is very weak (probably among the weakest here) so I would need to memorize any arrangement I wanted to play. Then I run into a diminishing returns kind of a problem. If I picked an easy arrangement, I would have to work somewhat hard to memorize it and then I might not like it enough to find it worth the bother. If I picked a hard arrangement, they are often REALLY hard, and then I could spend way too much time in a way that might be better spent elsewhere. I think the solution might be to spend six months just improving my reading, but that's tiresome and I don't even know how to go about doing it.

There are so many movie and TV scores I want to learn, but I have this problem with all of them...

_________________________
Playing since age 21 (September 2010) and loving it more every day."You can play better than BachMach2." - Mark_CCurrently Butchering:Chopin Ballade no 1 in G minor Op.23My Piano Diary: http://www.youtube.com/sirsardonic♪ > $

Gah! I have no skill with a blade! And I have no skill with arranging either. My reading is very weak (probably among the weakest here) so I would need to memorize any arrangement I wanted to play. ...

There are so many movie and TV scores I want to learn, but I have this problem with all of them...

Sam, Now you are being silly. Are you sticking out your tongue when you type that? Are you confusing the adult beginners forum with the performance degree forum?

A person that can play a lengthy classical piece after a few days with the score, may not be doing prima vista sight reading, but it still demonstrates a high skill level with sheet music. That level of skill probably puts a person in the top 5% for ABF, in terms of learning a new piece from sheet music.

I might suggest you work on arranging. We are talking movie scores, there is a wide latitude as compared to classical pieces. Start with the melody line, add some basic triad chords and inversions, add a few 7ths, 9ths, some arpeggios, trills, and other kinds of ornaments and it will sound all fancy in no time. Trust your ears and your fingers. If in doubt, simplify to three or four basic chords and repeat the pattern. A person can also look up the guitar chords to get more ideas.

One, although my apartment still has no heating or hot water (both of which I consider rather indispensable if I want to live there permanently), it is now in an advanced enough state of completion that I no longer feel the need to keep the piano packed in shipping foam and blankets all the time. I've been practicing daily after work at my new digs since Thursday. When it's really cold out, my practice sessions still tend to get cut short by finger stiffness, but I feel like I'm slowly getting back to normal as far as practice routine goes.

Also, I sent my teacher an e-mail explaining some of my issues (housing troubles with lack of regular effective practice as a consequence, fear of 'not doing enough' and the resultant temptation to cancel lessons, and some other, more sticky stuff). She was, rather predictably, very supportive in her response, and got me to see that not going to piano lessons anymore wouldn't actually solve any of my problems -- quite the contrary. I agreed to continue to take lessons, and to consider moving to a bi-weekly schedule if necessary. So I don't know if that's an AOTW on my part, or on the part of my teacher, but it's an AOTW nonetheless.

Thank you all for your encouragement, here and in the other thread. Some of your posts really made me think, and I don't believe I would have been quite so receptive to my teacher's arguments if it hadn't been for a bunch of friendly strangers on the internet trying to convince me not to give up!

Originally Posted By: Allard

A few dampers aren't working and now there's an awkward vibration in some of the higher bass strings. The sound reminds me of my earlier attempts at playing guitar, where I couldn't get a proper grip on the strings.

I'm sure this is no fun to you, but I'm so relieved to read it! You're describing the exact same kind of problems that I am having with my new piano, except that you haven't been forced to store yours in a cold, damp, dusty and all-around inhospitable place for over a month. I'm hoping that the issues my piano is experiencing right now are, therefore, just normal consequences of moving it to a new environment, and that this means they can be addressed without a major overhaul by a competent technician. Let me know, once you get yours tuned and regulated, whether or not the vibrations go away.

Originally Posted By: SwissMS

My AOTW was my teacher telling me that I played the best she had every heard me play today. That made my day!

I'll bet it did! .

Originally Posted By: HalfStep

If I am really thoughtful, I can make more noticeable progress in .5 hour of focused studying than in an hour of playing.

I've known this to be true for quite a while. And yet, every time I sit down at the piano, I'm tempted to just let loose and play. I make progress in baby steps, where I could be doing leaps and bounds if I focused my practice a bit more. Congratulations on having accomplished what I wish I could (and know I should) do!

Originally Posted By: Eglantine

So my teacher thinks my 3rd/4th finger trills and mordents (esp. right hand, my worst hand) have improved tremendously. And I sound musical. Hurrah! The hard work is starting to pay off.

Practice makes perfect. It's a cliché as big as a house, but cliches don't usually become cliches unless there is more than a little bit of truth to them. Congratulations on sticking with it!

Originally Posted By: FarmGirl

I don't like it when she says "why can't you...". It seriously pi** me off.

I am very late responding to this, which means that others have already said what I wanted to say better than I could. But I, too, think that your teacher's job is not to ask "why can't you ..." about anything. Her job is to answer that question (preferably with your input), and then help you find a way to do it anyway. One of the many, many reasons I appreciate my teacher as much as I do is that, like Andy Platt's teacher, she would never say something like that. Her response when I'm having trouble with something is always: OK, I see what's going on here. Now, how can we solve this? I don't know that I would stick for very long with a teacher who consistently did the opposite of that. On the other hand, it sounds from your recital report as though you do have a good thing going with this teacher. Congratulations on the nice performance, which you described so beautifully!

Originally Posted By: Toastie

My achievement of the week is personal rather than piano related, and as a result I have played very little piano. It will be that way for a couple more weeks. Then me and my piano will get through the tough times. You know you're safe with a piano and it will never break your heart.

I feel for you, Toastie. I haven't had my heart broken in a very long time, but I got some less-than-stellar news of a different kind last week. I know that music will help get me through the resultant rough patch. I sincerely wish the same thing upon you.

Originally Posted By: SwissMS

So my AOTW is learning how to play with my tongue sticking out.

This is such a marvelous idea! Will try it some time (although, probably not in front of my teacher or anyone else!)

Originally Posted By: torquenale

My AOTW: my lesson today was really good; the efforts I put on my Bach piece paid well, my teacher said it was unrecognizable. Now, she told me, I have to put it aside for a couple of weeks and then take it again in order to polish it (and improve the speed a bit).

I think this is really good advice. In the six or so months since I started with my current teacher, I've never not played a piece I had learned for 'a few weeks', but I have sometimes let it sit for a few days. Often I find that I play a piece better after such a 'pause' without even trying. It's as if my brain just needs time to 'absorb', and that happens regardless of whether I keep playing the piece or not. Anyway, congrats on getting this far with your Bach piece!

Originally Posted By: Ragdoll

My only AOTW is being able to play again.

Well, that's the mother of all AOTW's, isn't it? . Without being able to play, there would be no AOTW's at all.

Originally Posted By: Sam Rose

It's really challenging to pull the melody out from that cacophony of notes, but I think the effort for this piece will pay off with more melodic playing in all my pieces.

You'll get there! I can hear the 'cacaphony' you speak of in your recording, but I can also already hear the melody clearly. Now it's just a question of calming the jumble beneath it a little bit .

Originally Posted By: malkin

Of course, when I have the time I don't stop practicing altogether, I just stop that little section after its 3 or 5 times, but it leaves plenty of time for scales, sight reading, and goofing off.

Like HalfStep, you get my sincere congratulations on actually being efficient in your practice, as opposed to knowing you should be more efficient, but spending most of your time at the piano 'goofing off' instead. I should really sit down and figure out a way to follow your example that works for me.

Originally Posted By: casinitaly

... and my teacher explained a few more aspects of the technique to me with respect to acciaccatura versus appoggiato. I finally get the difference!

Uh ... good for you! I didn't even know those two things existed ... let alone what the difference between them is. But thanks for explaining it to this n00b.

Originally Posted By: rnaple

My really excited is that I found a really good teacher. We're starting on Sunday morning. Lessons are over Skype. He isn't too far away that I cannot visit him if I really need to learn something in person.

Congrats on the new teacher. That *is* really exciting. I hope you guys will 'click', and that you can enjoy a long and fruitful relationship with this teacher, which will take you to your end goal of being able to compose at the piano!

Originally Posted By: joyoussong

My teacher's had me working my way around the circle of 5ths with scales, triads & cadences, so I think I'll start transposing the BB into other keys.

I think the fact that you can even consider doing this is a big achievement in and of itself. I wish I were that comfortable playing the same piece in different keys! I think I'm going to make that my new long-term goal. Thanks for the inspiration!

Sam, Now you are being silly. Are you sticking out your tongue when you type that? Are you confusing the adult beginners forum with the performance degree forum?

A person that can play a lengthy classical piece after a few days with the score, may not be doing prima vista sight reading, but it still demonstrates a high skill level with sheet music. That level of skill probably puts a person in the top 5% for ABF, in terms of learning a new piece from sheet music.

I might suggest you work on arranging. We are talking movie scores, there is a wide latitude as compared to classical pieces. Start with the melody line, add some basic triad chords and inversions, add a few 7ths, 9ths, some arpeggios, trills, and other kinds of ornaments and it will sound all fancy in no time. Trust your ears and your fingers. If in doubt, simplify to three or four basic chords and repeat the pattern. A person can also look up the guitar chords to get more ideas.

You overestimate me Sand Tiger! I worked on the ballade for an incredibly long time. I can NOT just look at sheet music and play it a few days later. I can hardly "sight read" anything at all, even the most basic children's melodies.

As far as arranging goes, my knowledge of theory is very limited. I know how to make major and minor chords and scales (sort of) and that's it. And I don't even have any of that stuff memorized yet. All I've got down pat is the natural major and minor chords in their root inversions. I simply have no idea how to tackle theory, and without an approach to it, I have no way to advance at it. It's rather frustrating, actually. So in many ways, a majority of the ABF is far ahead of me.

_________________________
Playing since age 21 (September 2010) and loving it more every day."You can play better than BachMach2." - Mark_CCurrently Butchering:Chopin Ballade no 1 in G minor Op.23My Piano Diary: http://www.youtube.com/sirsardonic♪ > $

First of all --- Rnaple! Ron, I missed your post on getting a new teacher. I'll be very interested in seeing how your skype lessons work out. My lessons will stop in the summer and I've been seriously wondering about having a few over July and August via skype....keep us posted please!

Richard - congrats on your new piano - it's a beauty!I enjoyed listening to your "sample pieces" --- I think it is rather splendid that you can pull those pieces out and just play them at that level. How lovely to have these in your repertoire!

Allard - hang in there! Your piano is settling in. Very soon you'll have it tuned-up and you'll fall in love all over again!

Peter: I'm listening to the Impromptu as I type. I see that it takes Valantina Lisitsa 10 minutes to play it... I can't imagine tackling a piece of that length! It is truly beautiful though. Will we hear it in a recital at some time?

Joyoussong - the 12 bar blues pattern is so much fun. I had a friend get me started on it a while ago and it is really neat to see it showing up in some of the pieces in my jazz, rags and blues books. Once you know it, you've got a whole world opened up to you. I have the book you mentioned too, but I haven't used it much lately. I got his Jazz book as well....have barely cracked it open. I had planned to work on both and then when I got my new teacher I got sidetracked with other stuff. You should have a great time with this!

SandTiger and Sam - I think it is interesting to see how you both work with what is available other than just the sheet music. I don't have the patience to work with youtube tutorials.

SandTiger- happy pianoversary! I commented on your thread ---but to sum it up here: I really like your articulate expression of the insights you've found over the past year!

Saranoya: I'm glad that things are starting to become easier, but wow... you still have to put up with a lot of problems related to your apartment! I'm really glad you let your teacher know what was going on and that you got (no surprise) such a supportive reply from her.

I never imagined that this thread would become such a staple of the PW diet for so many of us. I'm glad I started it, because it has been a vehicle for getting to know a wonderful group of people here in PW - the joy of this thread is that whatever you give to it- you get back in spades. It has taken on a life of its own, and I'm just glad to be a part of it.

I don't really have an AOTW. I got a version of Canon in D (from a Dan Coates arrangement) and I'm trying it out. I like it a lot, and I find I'm extremely relaxed when playing it, but I'm not sure that it is "the" version for me.

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

First of all --- Rnaple! Ron, I missed your post on getting a new teacher. I'll be very interested in seeing how your skype lessons work out. My lessons will stop in the summer and I've been seriously wondering about having a few over July and August via skype....keep us posted please!...

Oh thank you so much. You are encouraging! I just had my first lessson. Might seem strange on Sunday morning. this was the only time we could work out that would be stable. The lesson went great. Taking me right from the beginning. He's happy using Alfred's all in one Course. I'm surprised he doesn't have any problem using the camera on my laptop for now. If there is something he needs to see better on my hand. I will adjust to show him. No big deal. He is really good. He is middle age. So I can relate to him easier. Has a degree, juliard training, owns his own record company, composes, produces, performs, and teaches. He is still very down to earth. Not cheap either. And I'm so happy with Alfred that our first song is one of the greatest that I love: Ode To Joy. It went great. I'm really excited. Finally getting into piano, right. I've had so many problems in the past trying to start piano. Finances ruined twice, had to quit before getting going. I've wanted this for a long time. I want to learn seriously. I want to create my own music eventually.EDIT: I wanted to add. My biggest problem right now is fighting my parrot (base) mind. To copy. That is my enemy. My enemy in music. I keep trying to play Ode to Joy the way it is engrained in my heart. Not the simplicity as written in the book. When I know darn well that the 9th symphony starts with it like that! My base mind, my nervous system must obey my heart. That is how I live. But my heart must obey what is written on the page. Gee... especially those last two notes. Doh!

Oh casinitaly... I hope someday you might help me to criticise my Italian for songs like Caruso, the Prayer and some others of Adrea Bocelli I admire. I think he's the best opera. He uses much dynamic range.

That is a gorgeous instrument!! What's the model and size? I may have missed it when you posted it originally.

I hope it brings you joy for decades to come

_________________________
Playing since age 21 (September 2010) and loving it more every day."You can play better than BachMach2." - Mark_CCurrently Butchering:Chopin Ballade no 1 in G minor Op.23My Piano Diary: http://www.youtube.com/sirsardonic♪ > $

I went piano shopping in Germany a couple of weeks ago, and look who followed me home!

Needless to say, I am very excited! I purchased it for the same price that I sold my M&H BB for in the US, so it is like an even swap. I have missed having a grand, so this is a dream come true for me! Now, if I can just play well enough to justify it!

_________________________European Piano Party July 4, 2015 in Switzerland!

Saranoya: I'm happy to hear that you found an agreement with your teacher and you are not stopping taking lessons. Last year I had weekly lessons, but it was too much because I usually did not have much time to practice in a normal week, and when something went wrong I went to the lesson reporting only very minor advancements. This year my lesson is be-weekly, and more flexible (usually on tuesday, but sometime on monday) - it fits better for me (and thanks to MOYD I manage to practice more).

Sam: congratulations for your performance with such an advanced piece!

I don't know if this can be considered a real AOTW, I was asked to play a duet with my elder son at the recital; we have the same teacher, but he takes weekly lessons in a school and he has to perform in the final recital. So it seems we'll play an arrangement of Joplin's Entertainer. The teacher also told me that I could play a solo piece in the same recital... I agreed for the duet, but I'm not sure whether accept to perform a solo piece in a children recital (piano and violin, with both my children involved). As far as I know, I would be the only adult, and to play in front of families who only want to listen to their children is funny. It could be helpful to try and play in public, I don't know yet.

I don't really have an AOTW. I got a version of Canon in D (from a Dan Coates arrangement) and I'm trying it out. I like it a lot, and I find I'm extremely relaxed when playing it, but I'm not sure that it is "the" version for me.

Isn't it a pleasant piece to just learn and relax with? I'm still working with it too and still enjoying it. I think Sand Tiger is also doing this piece although you both are no doubt playing a more serious arrangement than my Alfred's score.

My AOTW is getting more into the sight reading exercises in Hannah Smith's Book using both hands concurrently. I had to do this as my reading was so very weak I ended up memorizing too many things. This caused me to lose my place in the score completely and couldn't recover neatly if I had a lapse in memory. I find I'm enjoying learning to read better.

One, although my apartment still has no heating or hot water (both of which I consider rather indispensable if I want to live there permanently), it is now in an advanced enough state of completion that I no longer feel the need to keep the piano packed in shipping foam and blankets all the time. I've been practicing daily after work at my new digs since Thursday.

YAY!!!! Very glad to hear your teacher is so understanding and everything's (almost) back to normal also.

Halfstep - congrats, I remember trying one of those small Baldwins and being amazed at how "big" it sounded. It looks wonderful in the pictures.

SwissMS - Oh my, a Bechstein....I got to try out a few Bechsteins when I was piano shopping. They had a sweet sounding treble..very bell-like if I remember. I'll bet the Bach Invention sounds terrific....Heck, I'll bet all your music sounds terrific.

I went piano shopping in Germany a couple of weeks ago, and look who followed me home!

Needless to say, I am very excited! I purchased it for the same price that I sold my M&H BB for in the US, so it is like an even swap. I have missed having a grand, so this is a dream come true for me! Now, if I can just play well enough to justify it!

Wow!! You are one lucky duck! I'll trade you my C3 for it!

Originally Posted By: Ragdoll

My AOTW is getting more into the sight reading exercises in Hannah Smith's Book using both hands concurrently. I had to do this as my reading was so very weak I ended up memorizing too many things. This caused me to lose my place in the score completely and couldn't recover neatly if I had a lapse in memory. I find I'm enjoying learning to read better.

Can you post a link to the book? I'm looking for hand together sight reading practice, since most of what I have is too hard for me.

_________________________
Playing since age 21 (September 2010) and loving it more every day."You can play better than BachMach2." - Mark_CCurrently Butchering:Chopin Ballade no 1 in G minor Op.23My Piano Diary: http://www.youtube.com/sirsardonic♪ > $

Ron, thanks for the details on your lessons. Sounds like a great match for you!If I can help with your Italian, sure ---but note that Torquenale is a native Italian, so .... she may be an even better resource to draw on!

Half-step! wow, beautiful piano - you must be thrilled to bits!!!..and SwissMS...it followed you home lol My brother used to say that about stray kittens! What a lovely instrument indeed! I can't wait to hear both your and Half-steps instruments!

Torquenale - I think it is really neat that you'll be playing with your son, but I agree...it could be very weird being the only adult playing with the kids. I'll be in the same situation in June when recital time comes around - and I'm very sure that I will not participate.

Ragdoll, I have no idea what level your Alfred's book is, but the Canon I'm working on isn't very complicated. I have heard good things about the Hannah Smith book, though I don't use it. I was very fortunate when I started playing in that I was given a ton of music for beginners - sometimes I'll just spend a whole morning going through various pieces. I've also started putting the dates on them when I play them so that some time in the future if I go back I can have a reference as to when I last looked at it.

I had my lesson today : I haven't made much progress on the Heller piece as I've been very busy (and also tired) because of work (which is a pleasure! I'm not complaining!) -it was a very hectic week. I had, however, done some analysis of it and had focused on a few tricky spots. My teacher liked the way I was approaching it. I've also selected my next new piece - another Schumann - First Loss! This will help me with some much needed improvement in using the pedal.

No lesson next week as my teacher is conducting a concert in Vienna!

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

Is anyone else having trouble viewing the most recent page of this thread? For 2 days now, it's too wide for my laptop screen. I can just get and entire post in, but the names disappear off the left side (which means I have to scroll sideways to know who said what) & the ads disappear off the right side. Swiss MS, the grand piano is BEAUTIFUL. I played a Bechstein in a store a while ago - only time I've ever played a grand.

There's a Canon in D in Alfred's 2, but there may be other versions in subsequent books. I only got about half way in Alfred's 2 before I switched teachers & books, so I never got to it.

Melody is starting to sound pretty good - I think my teacher will be pleased. I've also been working on a piece called Impertinence, by Handel. I chose it myself - it's beautiful, but not easy. (& both these pieces are out of an old Level 2 RCM book) & I'm still playing the 12 bar blues, working on getting it smoother.

...If I can help with your Italian, sure ---but note that Torquenale is a native Italian, so .... she may be an even better resource to draw on!

... ... ...No lesson next week as my teacher is conducting a concert in Vienna!

Oh my.... I have teacher envy! Vienna? My little mind thought only the very best do anything in Vienna?

On the Italian. I'm in no hurry at all. Concentrating on this Pianoforte right now. Be years before I actually look for criticism. I do wonder though. I know there are tons of dialects in Italian. How does anybody say that something is pronounced right?

_________________________
Playing since age 21 (September 2010) and loving it more every day."You can play better than BachMach2." - Mark_CCurrently Butchering:Chopin Ballade no 1 in G minor Op.23My Piano Diary: http://www.youtube.com/sirsardonic♪ > $

Wow, new pianos, delivered pianos finally being played, new teachers, pieces memorized, and more. Lots of excitement and possibly envy too on the thread. (I haven't had any trouble reading the thread, perhaps try reloading, or loading on another browser).

Ragdoll, yes, I am working on Canon in D, but mine is a level 1 arrangement, simpler and shorter than the version in Alfred's book two. Stubbie pointed me to a Monica K. rendition (piano monica on youtube), which feels like level 4-5, and that one is too hard for me to attempt. As is, I am at week nine working on my simple shortened version that has single whole note harmonies on the left hand. I looked at or listened to 10 different arrangements, so there are a lot of versions out there.

Ron - there is Italian and there are dialects. Most people speak Italian, some (increasingly fewer) speak both, and some very old folks only speak dialect.As far as pronouncing Italian correctly goes, it is very much like English in the US or the UK --- it does vary somewhat from region to region. Those from Tuscany will tell you that their Italian is THE Italian because of Dante Alighieri's 12th century writings in the vernacular "setting the stage" for modern Italian. Where Torquenale comes from the "r" is generally very very soft instead of a harder "rrrrrrrr" growly R you find in other parts of Italy. Where I live the vowel "e" (pronounced "eh") is stretched out into more of an "ay". It is quite fascinating to figure out where folks are from without asking, just listening.

As for my teacher...well, I think he's brilliant and I feel very fortunate - through strange twists of fate - to have hooked up with him.

Joyoussong - I looked up Impertinence. It is the piece I've been working on !!!! It has a different name in my book (Aylesford piece). It IS tricky - but I love it too. So we're working on the very same pieces - how cool is that?

Andy - what satisfaction! Will we hear this at the May recital?

SandTiger&Ragdoll, there are so many versions of the Canon out there. I love the one Monica plays (Lee Galloway's version) but it is too hard for me right now too. I think there must be something in between what I have and that version, but for the moment what I've got is a very nice start.

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

SandTiger&Ragdoll, there are so many versions of the Canon out there. I love the one Monica plays (Lee Galloway's version) but it is too hard for me right now too. I think there must be something in between what I have and that version, but for the moment what I've got is a very nice start.

Yes there are! I only had to hear Monica's rendition and decide to learn this piece though not that arrangement. Too much-too soon, the version I am working is the last piece in Basic Adult Lesson Book two as well as the first piece In Book six. They are identical so go figure? At any rate, this particular version is really not terribly difficult until you (rather me) get to the sixteenth notes at page 4 but my sight reading is getting better so that is getting easier for me too. It'll be awhile before I master this piece, even this simple arrangement but then I tell myself, "what's the rush?" Luck to both of you with it.